As we inch closer to that moment of the day when the sun disappears and millions of us New York Jews somehow manage to stop eating for a full 24-25 hours and become like PETA activists refusing to wear any piece of clothing that may have come from an animal, all in order to reflect and atone for our since of the past year, I’ve noticed a recent phenomenon happening with trailers and their films for which I would like someone – anyone – to atone. There are a whole bunch of movies opening this weekend. I’m anxious to see Shaun of the Dead, A Dirty Shame and The Motorcycle Diaries. I’m still confused by the fact that Forest Whitaker is the director of First Daughter, and I’m actually curious about The Last Shot. And Miramax is finally releasing the excellent Hong Kong actioner Infernal Affairs. However, the film with the widest release this weekend is The Forgotten, opening on over 3100 screens. The consensus from various blogs and critics seems to be that this movie pretty much blows.
That shouldn’t really surprise anyone, although I will admit that when I first saw the trailer a little over a month ago, I was totally jazzed. First of all, I’ll go see Julianne Moore in anything. She’s a brilliant actress and gorgeous too. Second, especially now that I’m a total convert to The Wire, I’m interested in seeing Dominic West in a more substantial role than I’ve seen in his several supporting appearances. The film also features Gary Sinese and Alfre Woodard, and quite simply, the trailer is awesome. It looks like a smart thriller with twists and turns and whodunwhats – just an all around good time? Is it a conspiracy film? Is there something supernatural going on? Who knows, but I want to see it, that’s for sure.
And then, the one thing to temper all hopes pops up on the screen. I go from leaning forward on the edge of my seat to slumping back shaking my head. My mood descends from euphoria to depression. OK, maybe not that far – but at least I do find myself shaking my head saying, “No, no, no. Why? Why? Why?”
“A film by Joseph Ruben” the credit flashes just before the end of the trailer. And I start to cry.
Ruben is the hack known for taking potentially interesting ideas, particularly with thrillers, and doing absolutely nothing interesting with them. If something doesn’t make sense? Who cares. Shoot around it, add an effect and make it pretty. I haven’t seen his last film, Return to Paradise, and I’ve actually heard some decent things about it, but The Good Son? Money Train? Sleeping With the Enemy? Blech. And for all accounts so far, The Forgotten is exactly the same.
I’ve been discovering this more and more recently: there are directors out there who shoot great trailers. They don’t even edit the trailers themselves – that’s the studio’s marketing department’s job — but what they shoot is really good for a one-to-two minute ad, and really bad for a 2 hour movie. Michael Bay has always been the king of shooting trailers because his films are really just 30 music videos strung together anyway. Antoine Fuqua is starting to rival Bay, but he’s not really there yet.
But The Forgotten is only one of several trailers I’ve recently seen, not knowing or forgetting who the filmmaker is only to be severely disappointed when that “film by” credit pops up onscreen. The Phantom of the Opera is another example. Until Joel Schumacher’s name appeared on the screen, I had no recollection that he was at the helm of this enormous adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s musical. The preview is fantastic, primarily due to the costumes and art design. The movie rightly looks grand and enormous, just as the music and the original stage show intends it to be. But I just know that Schumacher is going to screw it up. I’ve mentioned this before: there’s a good director hiding inside Schumacher, but if you give him too much money or too large a production, he screws-up everything.
I have more hope — but call it a cautious and weary optimism — for Ray. The trailer for Ray is phenomenal, and shows Jamie Foxx continuing his quest to be one of the best actors currently working in Hollywood. He was one of the best things about Any Given Sunday, and aside from the cinematography, he was absolutely the best thing in Collateral. Who would have guessed that Foxx possessed much more than the talent for comic silliness he exhibited on In Living Color and The Jamie Foxx Show, not to mention tripe like Booty Call and The Great White Hype. But even in this brief glimpse, you can see him channeling the spirit of Ray Charles into his performance in a way Will Smith could have only dreamed to do with Ali. And just as I’m ready to call and order my tickets months in advance, “A film by Taylor Hackford.”
Now come on. I mean “hack” is part of the man’s name, and while he’s not as bad as Ruben, he’s also very middle-of-the-road, and just above adequate. He usually won’t make a terrible movie, but you won’t get much better than a decent one. His last work, Proof of Life, is a perfect example — a completely inconsequential, not great, not horrible, film. The Devil’s Advocate was actually a phenomenal screenplay (and I’m talking about the one I actually read before seeing the film), and it was a slightly above-average movie. Dolores Claiborne? Against All Odds? An Officer and a Gentleman? I know some of these (especially the last) were audience favorites, but none of them were great movies, and most importantly, none were as fantastic as they could have been. Hell, Against All Odds was a “remake” of Out of the Past, one of the best and most important films noir of all time, and he turned it into this weird, and annoying romantic thriller.
Now, I have one friend who pretends to be a professional journalist and he was very disappointed in it. On the other hand, Thigh Master saw it a few weeks ago and loved it, although he does seem to give most of the credit to Foxx’s performance.
I’m withholding judgment on all these films, and I do still plan to see them, but a call out to all you marketing folks: Please do me a favor and just stick the director’s name up front. It will save me a lot of excitement and energy I could use for other things.
Better yet, to all you filmmakers out there: Just when you think the script is ready and everything makes sense, please give it one more pass. And when you find yourself shooting a sequence and saying to yourself, “Wouldn’t that be cool?” or “What if we made it look like this,” could you stop just for a moment and ask yourselves what your fucking up in the process? Because then maybe you’ll find that plot hole or contrivance, fix it and then have BOTH a great looking movie and one that makes sense. And on top of it, you’ll already have the preview that sells, without having to shoot a film that makes nothing more than a good trailer.
Out of Focus 